


Reign

by SparrowOfTheBlock101



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bittersweet, M/M, Moving On, Oikage Day 2021, POV Alternating, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28703013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparrowOfTheBlock101/pseuds/SparrowOfTheBlock101
Summary: Tobio couldn’t draw to save his life.That’s what he told his family. His friends. His classmates. His teachers. He could barely manage a stick figure, he says. Not even a simple circle without tracing.And that was that, until a foreign exchange student visited for a project and sent it all down the drain.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio & Original Female Character(s), Kageyama Tobio/Miya Atsumu, Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru, Oikawa Tooru & Hoshiumi Kourai
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	Reign

Olivia Robinson-no, wait, it’s Robinson Olivia while in Japan, remember, girl?-hummed as she looked around her classmate’s room. It wasn’t her first time at his house (a biology project bringing her there and led to a discussion over tattoos, almost receiving a fail for it) but it was her first time in his bedroom.

It was plain. A bookcase with Volleyball Monthly filling it alongside a lot of dictionaries and textbooks was placed beside a messy desk-she fought the urge to straighten it. His bed was covered in dark blue blankets and pillows, a large volleyball plushy by the pillow. Wasn’t that called Vabo-chan? She dimly recalled Kageyama arguing with Rui about which sports plush was better. He was neat, at least, using a laundry basket and he had sports equipment carefully stacked in a corner. The desk drew her attention from the pictures on the wall, it’s clutter driving her nuts. 

She glanced at the door, hearing him clatter around downstairs in the kitchen. He wouldn’t mind if she just… straightened some things? Right?

Almost tripping over her own feet, she hovered over the desk and began plucking up pencils. He had so many mechanical pencils-not even Rico had this many, Kageyama, why? The markers were swept into a palm and dumped into a labeled pouch. Colored pencils picked up slowly, her staring at the ends. They were really run down. Had he been coloring something?

Her eyes drifted down, down to the white sheets and the notebooks on the desktop and cast a glance at the open doorway. He had been coloring, right? He said he couldn’t draw. But he was pretty private..

Olivia found herself flipping over papers, large kanji scribbled out. She struggled, the lines messy, but she managed to find the finished product on the cover of a notebook-no, a sketchbook.

**王朝**

_Dynasty_ , she translated. Her fingertips flipped the cover open.

The first thing she saw was a baby’s footprint stapled to the page. She smiled, tracing the tiny foot. It was always weird for her to think of babies growing into a toddler, a child, a teen, and so on, but it happened. The evolution was extraordinary. Maybe Kageyama had documented his in this.

(Even before starting high school in Japan, she had heard murmurs in the local sports shop about a boy called king, a tyrant ruler. Maybe he had been once, but she knew him as the dork who was obsessed with volleyball and milk, always arguing with Rui about who’s sport was better (she’d never admit to preferring volleyball over tennis) and offering extra sweets his neighbor made)

A few pages in were of a baby Kageyama, she came upon a toddler Kageyama gnawing on a volleyball and coughed on a laugh. It was detailed, from his gumming to the slobber dripping onto the ball. She smiled and flipped the page, seeing him bouncing a ball to an older man and a girl. They were warm colors, bright yellow even with the people dark against the lights. Their blue eyes stuck out the most, the girl’s dark hair changing styles with every page flip and the man aging. Soon, the girl was older and waving goodbye and Olivia swallowed at the greys that held the boy and man in their grasp. She just barely noticed she had sat down on the carpet.

Other adults showed up, mainly women. All dressed in some form of practice clothes. The differing women helped Kageyama with his practice, a pair of twins high fiving him, a woman fussing, and later, one of the women scared away the others with a hook. Literally, she had lost one hand and had it changed for a hook. Olivia snickered, the hooked woman appearing like Captain Hook and Smee was replaced with a worrying woman. Like with the man and girl, the colors were bright and warm, Kageyama even smiling in some of the drawings. There was one drawing that stuck out the most. One that had it appearing as if the drawing were first person, sketchbook balanced on knotty bruised knees with gangly legs stretched out. She could even make out calluses on the hands and she was awed by the detailing. Kageyama was a liar, saying he couldn't draw. These were amazing-and it really was like a drawn autobiography.

The dates at the top shifted right to before Kageyama entered middle school and they changed more, to brighter. One of the first drawings had him staring at a TV, a boy on it mid jump. She practically felt the awe radiating from Kageyama even without his face being seen. The following were of that boy on the screen, Kageyama clearly having met him in person and she oohed over just how detailed it was. Like, super detailed. Hmm… She bet his eyes had sparkled like sapphires under a light when he first saw the other boy.

Three more boys made their appearances, a boy with hair shaped like a turnip, a sloth looking boy, and the last one-with his irritated scowls aimed at someone-reminded her of a cactus. But the first boy appeared more. And the drawings of him, with the tiny details like his eyes shining as he hit the ball and teased one of the other boys or Kageyama, let her recognize the awe growing into admiration. Especially the focus on the first boy. She could see the transition of admiration to crush with the sketched changes of months going by.

And go by they did, right up until the final term of the year. 

The other boy was no longer colored, her breath freezing like ice as she took in the drawing of him. The intensity in his eyes, the panic as he swung an arm at the first person, and she barely felt the tears trickle down her face as the boy was talked to by the cactus boy. What caused the lashing out? _(Did he actually_ **_hit_ ** _Kageyama? She would kick his ass-)_

He was shown again accepting an award (she memorized it, memorized the way Kageyama detailed his pride in accepting the award, and swore privately to look it up (she and her class knew he could be lonely sometimes and she had the foreboding feeling the sketches after this would be even harder to look at; she'd ask about having a class picnic, maybe, or playing the team sports with the athletes in the class)) and she blinked twice at the image of him crying-rather prettily-and pointing at Kageyama.

Kageyama's second term started and she watched the slow change within him, his grandfather, and his team. How his grandfather was shown more often than not in a hospital-the women from before weren't drawn anymore-and Kageyama drew doctors and nurses checking on the man. She watched how the colors got darker with every new picture, how it changed the volleyball drawings. How the team seemed to drift away from Kageyama and she wiped the tears off before they fell on the pages.

Third year was worse. Just like with the first boy, they went to black and white. Greys appearing in exchange for color and the two other yearmates were leached of any light hues, including white. She sniffled when she got to a picture of him setting (the only term she knew from her asking) with a blood red cape and crown on, the place he was setting to empty, a hole. On the page after showed him looking up at a disdainful boy in the stands. Then the elderly man appeared one last time, drawn in a frame and she recognized it as being a part of a wake.

Olivia had to set it down then, wiping futilely at her face as she stared at the wall. It made sense, his lie. He sucked at descriptions, sucked with words. But drawings? That was like the saying "The eyes are the windows to the soul." Drawings were the doorway to an artist's soul and Kageyama poured his into the notebook. She bet some things were missing, hidden in his subconscious. 

Taking a few more breaths, she picked the sketchbook up and stayed steady through the end of his middle school career despite the loneliness that crept and clawed at her.

Colors came back the minute he met Hinata (Hinata, the hyper midget ginger who left chaos in his path when he ran into Kageyama). They got bolder, more flamboyant as Karasuno made their appearance. She cooed silently at the sight of him showing Yachi how to toss a volleyball properly, the girl adorably focused. 

Their class made an appearance, Rico being shown playing soccer with Watanabe and the other boys in the class, Naori in a firebird leap, and the class president with the vice going over Culture Day preparations. A _pfft_ escaped when she saw Jingyi and Hajun staring at each other blankly, Kageyama looking over their homework with an unhappy look; she remembered that incident, it had been the beginning of the year and the two exchange students had accidentally turned in their homework in Chinese and Korean respectively and Nakano-their Japanese literature teacher-had asked him to translate it.

Her smile faded a little when the other boy made an appearance yet again along with the three others. He became just as bright as Karasuno, though not as bold. It was more fuzzy, dream like almost-

"Robin."

She froze, tense as she turned to the doorway. She couldn't tell if she was lucky that he just seemed exasperated or unlucky because she knew he could be petty (there were too many incidents between him and Rui and the other athletes in the class (Nakamura was a blessing for their class, wrangling them)). "Uh."

"I can't draw." His words were firm, sapphire eyes as calm as a river on a nice day, but she had the feeling he was in turmoil under the surface.

Closing the sketchbook, she stood and staggered on pins and needles as she set it on the desk. "I know," she replied, going with the flow. "Are you done yelling at your stove?"

"I was yelling at my blender," he corrected, heading downstairs.

"Sure, sure…"

Later, dinner done and eaten, biology science drawn and labeled and captioned, Olivia figured it was time to head back to her host family. She gently turned down his offer to walk her.

"Hey, Kage." Olivia paused after putting her shoes on and opening the front door, turning to him and stuffing her hands into her coat pockets. He blinked at her, waiting. "Can I be straightforward with you?"

His brows furrowed. "... sure."

She shifted, taking in the transitioning winter air. "You should talk to Seika more, you two have more in common than you think-and I don't just mean both of you being athletes. And…" She bit her lip briefly then locked her eyes with his. "Spring is coming up. A time of renewal and growth. You… I think you should start a new sketchbook. Send that one on. Karasuno is a new era for you, right? It should be documented. By itself, I mean."

He frowned, looking away. "I'll think about it," he answered after a moment.

"That's fine. See you tomorrow." She dipped into a slight bow and headed off, following the setting sun to her current home.

* * *

Yasuda was running late, Tobio observed as he checked his phone and adjusted the class bag’s shoulder strap. He wasn't really surprised, her having told him about her grandmother and how stubborn she could be. She sounded worse than his cousins' other grandmother. Horrifying, honestly. 

Maybe… maybe he could sketch while he waited? There was a drawing he was working on, one of Oikawa. It had been stuck in his head since he last saw him during their final match against each other. For the most part, it was Oikawa's eyes. Those damningly smoky quartz eyes that always knocked him off rhythm.

Smoky quartz eyes that had finally acknowledged him.

Just remembering it made his chest ache, a little breathless at the memory. More than three years he had strived to change from the baby duckling asking for help to the proper rivaling duck that could finally stand his ground against a giant.

He pulled out the sketchbook, a hardback one that was a smooth deep purple that had neon green sparking through. The title was a contrasting pastel yellow, neatly made by his own hand after he figured out the kanji and it was locked with a tiny set of keys. Most of the time it was locked, Robin had come when he had been brainstorming a series of sketches of the match with Kamomedai (and if he had a bunch of exasperated drawings with Hinata being sick and Tsukishima being exhausted, only Robin knew).

Rather than open it, he tapped it with the keys. Thinking of Robin reminded him. The sketchbook was almost full which meant he'd need a new one. Probably bigger, too, since he just-he kept meeting so many amazing players and he wanted to draw them. Draw the hyper ones. Draw the ones who failed to receive. Draw the ones who fell, but got up again. Draw the ones who remained friends even after a fierce game (a certain owl and rooster for instance). Draw the passionate ones who _threw_ themself into volleyball. 

A pair of hooded amber eyes (eyes that had kept appearing in the sketchbook) came to mind and he squeezed the keys as he fought the blood rushing to his face.

"Yahoo! Tobio-chan!"

Just as fast as his blood tried rushing, it stopped fast at the annoyingly fruity voice. Closing his eyes then opening them to stare at the ground, he wondered if he could fake being lost in thought. A pair of galaxy covered converse hit the ground and entered his eyesight, fluffy brown hair entering his vision. He grimaced as he leaned away. "Oikawa-san, hello," he greeted reluctantly. "Iwaizumi-san, Matsukawa-san, Hanamaki-san."

Iwaizumi jerked Oikawa back by his collar as Tobio stood, holding his sketchbook by his side. "Hey, Kageyama. Sorry for this idiot." He ignored Oikawa's whininess. 

Matsukawa nodded back and Hanamaki leaned past the former captain to look at him closely. "Hey, Kageyama. What're you doing here?" He seemed genuine.

“I’m waiting for a classmate. We’re supposed to have a fake date.” Tobio checked his phone. She was really late, did something happen?

“Fake date?” Matsukawa repeated, making Tobio look up and nod at him. The crow scowled at Oikawa automatically, seeing the weird look on his face. “Why a fake date?”

“Are you sure it’s a fake date and not a real one?” Hanamaki blinked at him when his scowl turned to him. His scowl did falter when he remembered didn’t go to Karasuno and thus wouldn’t know about the basketball player.

“Yasuda isn’t into guys, but her grandmother is a traditionalist.” Tobio was rewarded with looks of dawning understanding.

“But why you?” Oikawa asked brusquely, wincing when Iwaizumi elbowed him.

Eyeing the looks on Matsukawa and Hanamaki’s faces, Tobio shrugged. “Her grandmother was supposed to visit this weekend and she needed to lie about having a boyfriend.” He paused then added, “She offered to buy me food.”

Matsukawa nodded sagely. “That’s a good reason to accept.” He held his fist out and Tobio obliged, chocolate opal eyes dancing in his head.

Tobio trusted the owner of those eyes more than he did polished green garnet and smoky quartz. “Were you going to watch a movie?” He asked, glancing past them to the mall’s theater. If they were, one was supposed to start soon from what he briefly glanced which meant they might leave sooner.

“We’re meeting the others for minigolf, actually,” Oikawa chirped. He had a weird smile on his face, eyes rather dark. His eyes shifted to the side, smile getting wider. “And here they are now. Yoohoo!”

Restraining a grimace, he turned to see Seijoh’s current team walking over. He didn’t bother speaking this time, just bobbing his head in greeting. His skin was crawling just being near his two former teammates, and with the other two? Yasuda, _please_ be punctual like you usually are-

“KAGE!”

Bless her timing.

He barely turned around in the opposite direction when she impacted his side like a train. Swaying slightly and looking down slightly, he blanched. “You look horrible.”

Ignoring the surprised splutters from the four seniors, Yasuda turned her make-up covered face to him. “I know. I want it off.” He slid the bag off and dropped it on her. She began digging through it immediately, grabbing the make up wipes Matsuoka had put in and pulled her phone out to start the removal process. Halfway done, she froze and turned, blinking at Seijoh. “Oh. Sorry, did I interrupt?”

“Pretty sure they were going to leave,” he murmured and nodded to the group. Again. “We’re going to go now, see you some other time.”

“Kageyama,” Yahaba called the two started away, Tobio looking back. The other smiled slightly. “We’ll win next time.”

Tobio’s lip curved a little. “We’ll see.” He went to join a distracted Yasuda then paused, twisting back around with the sketchbook still in hand. He’d almost forgotten, but Robin had a point. “Oikawa-san, here.”

The brunet blinked at the offered sketchbook, quirking a brow “Oh?”

“It’s almost full and I need a new one.” Not bothered to say anymore, he offered a slight wave and went to join Yasuda, who had noticed his absence.

Her obsidian eyes locked onto his sapphire, thoughtful, then she smiled. “Italian? I was thinking gelato.”

“Sounds good,” he answered. “But only if we get arancini and ciabatta sandwiches.”

Yasuda whistled as she checked the mirror. “Arancini… oh. Pizza?” They shared a look and nodded. “Pizza.”

Tobio didn’t look back at Oikawa. He didn’t look back at the other three. No longer did he need to, not when they hadn’t. His eyes would be focused forward only from now on. The dynasty had passed, only a new era from now.

“I need a new sketchbook, first. I was thinking I could draw the class picnic we had a few weeks ago.

“The one with the duck incident?”

“Yeah.”

“Please. I want it immortalized somewhere. Abara-san had Jingyi delete everything."

"Not surprising. He got taken out by a duck."

* * *

Years later, Argentina won against Japan during the Olympics.

Staring at Tobio as he leaned into Miya Atsumu's side, smiling in a way he never had with Kitagawa Daiichi, brighter than he had with Karasuno...

Tooru smiled wryly to himself and turned away. It had been pretty obvious by the sketchbook's contents that Tobio was growing in ways unimaginable to Tooru but it hadn't truly hit until he saw the matching silver rings around their necks, new shiny silver medals dangling with them.

Any possible chance he had was gone. Maybe if they had talked-but then again, he never did apologize for middle school...

"Hey!"

He flinched back with a squawk as bright jade eyes were suddenly in front of his face.

Hoshiumi Kourai peered up at him, inquisitive. "Hinata said you can break a ping pong paddle when you play ping pong. Is that true?"

A tendril of embarrassment rose and he silently cursed the ginger. That had been a _secret_. "Yes."

The shorter man brightened like he had received a gold medak earlier rather than silver. "Great! You can be my partner against Seika and Rui!"

"Do I get a choice?" Tooru wondered as he began to get dragged away, obliviously looking back at Tobio.

His new companion noticed. "Tobio and Atsumu are crap at ping pong, so no, no you don't. Now forget that and come on! It's beer pong this year since they can finally drink. Let's gooo!"

Helpless, Tooru was forced to move along due to the jade eyed man. Gazing at the back of a pale haired head, he thought that it probably wouldn't be too bad. He had finally won against Ushiwaka and Tobio. It was time for the next challenge. 

As Hoshiumi grinned up at him, Tooru slowly smiled back. He did like his challenges after all, no matter how hard they could be.

* * *

👑

_“It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.”_   
_**Paulo Coelho** _

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based on JP Saxe's "A Little Bit Yours." I thought it fit in a way, so here it is.
> 
> The kanji used should mean Ocho which translates to dynasty. If it doesn't, it means WordHippo lied and I'm sorry.
> 
> Missed Oikageday 2021 by a few digits, but here it is. I'm not sure if I got the Oikage parts right and I'm not sure on my romance skills, so I hope you guys still enjoy this.


End file.
